Student Development: Past, Present

and Future

Oregon Student Services Summer InstituteLinda Reisser, Ed. D.

Dean of Student Development

Portland Community College. Cascade Campus

Veronica Garcia

Dean of Enrollment Services

Portland Community College

Questions

• What does it mean to belong to a profession called “student development?”

• How did the profession evolve?

• What is “student development?” • How can we be more intentional about fostering

learning and student development?

• How will student services need to change in orderto serve future students?

Why are these questions relevant?

1. Many Student Services professionals have not taken coursework in higher education or student development.

2. It puts our daily work in a larger context (promoting learning and personal growth).

3. It’s part of the mission of CSSA.

CSSA (Council of Student Services Administrators) – Current Mission

A. to promote practices and strategies that maximize access and success for all students

B. to promote the effectiveness of student services

professionals

C. to promote student development theory, data, and research as a context for service delivery

D. to promote student-centered decision-making at state and local levels

E. to promote an institutional commitment to diversity and multiculturalism

What’s a “Professional?”

1) high level of competence, knowledge2) commitment to ongoing learning3) history4) basis in theory and research5) body of knowledge; literature; foundation

documents6) core values; recognized set of ethics7) principles of good practice8) standards for assessment 9) professional organizations10) common language

Principles of Good Practice in Student Affairs (National ACPA/NASPA Study Group, 1997)

Good practice in student affairs:

1. Engages students in active learning.

2. Helps students develop coherent values and ethical standards.

3. Sets and communicates high expectations for student learning.

4. Uses systematic inquiry to improve student and institutional performance.

5. Uses resources effectively to achieve institutional missions and goals.

6. Forges educational partnerships that advance student learning.

7. Builds supportive and inclusive communities.

Looking Back - 200 Years at a Time

820 Charlemagne realized that the empire needed educated leaders and has ordered cathedrals and monasteries to provide free schools to “every boy who had the intelligence and the perseverance to follow a demanding course of study.”

1020 Monastic schools were expanding throughout Europe.

1220 Two universities had been established: University of Paris and University of Bologna.

Some English scholars had left Paris, and moved to Oxford and Cambridge.

Religious orders opened houses for students.

By

1300, there

were

20

universities in

Europe.

The Latin word for “union” = universitas.

English Model Imported to the American Colonies

1620 Pilgrims land in America. Puritans valued literacy.

Colonial colleges followed English models:

Harvard - 1636 William and Mary - 1693 Yale - 1701

1720 - Robert’s story

Robert lived in a small village-- Portland, Connecticut.

His older brothers worked in the brownstone quarries, carving gravestones.

Everyone helped with the farm.

Robert’s ancestor came over on the Mayflower, and the family is hard-working and devout.

Robert was less inclined to work in the quarries or on the family farm.

Like many boys, he was taught to read the Bible, and he enjoyed preaching to his little sister.

In 1720. . .

Very few students went to college.

All the crafts and trades, as well as farming and business, could be learned through imitation or apprenticeships. This was also true for the new professions--law and medicine.

Only theology demanded further schooling.

Education was not compulsory, except in New England.

Robert’s parents thought he would make a good minister, and had him tutored in Latin and Greek, which were required for admission to colleges.

Robert studied hard for his examination by the President and tutors at Yale. He knew he would have to: -”read, construe, and parce

Tully, Virgil, and the Greek Testament” - write Latin prose - understand Arithmetic, and - “bring sufficient testimony

of his Blameless and Inoffensive Life.”

Yale College was named after Welsh merchant Elihu Yale, who had donated the proceeds from the sale of nine bales of goods, plus 417 books and a portrait of King George I.

Colonial colleges were founded by clergy to train ministers and Christian gentlemen, raise the youth “in good Letters and Manners,” and “propagate Christianity among the Western Indians.”

Like the English colleges. . .

• “Staff” lived with the students and enforced the rules.

• Bachelors were taught by masters. • Colleges were small communities, in

pastoral, semi-monastic settings.• Tutors served “in loco parentis.” • There was one curriculum:

The Seven Liberal Arts: Grammar, Logic, Rhetoric, Music, Arithmetic, Geometry, and Astronomy

The Three Philosophies: Moral, Metaphysical, and Natural

The Two Tongues: Greek and Hebrew

Robert was admitted to Yale. At the age of 15, he moved to New Haven.

His chambers were shared by 32 Scholars, thePresident, and twoTutors, who taught all the classes, and enforce a lengthy set of rules.

Yale’s Rules

Students were directed to:• “live Religious, Godly, and

Blameless Lives”• publicly repeat sermons

whenever called upon• pray after breakfast and

dinner• be in their chambers by 9:00

pm, studying

Prohibited:

• Blasphemy, cursing, quarreling• Fornication, robbery, forgery• Turbulent words or behavior• Lascivious words or actions• Wearing women’s apparel• Playing cards or dice• Bringing rum, wine, brandy or other strong liquor into

his Chambers• Going to a tavern within two miles of the college• Singing or talking during study time• Going out without a coat or gown

Robert’s Student Development

- intellectual competence (reading the classics, disputation, rhetoric)

- managing emotions (controlling adolescent impulses)

- autonomy from parents

- purpose and identity (Congregational minister)

Changes since 1820

1825 - Thomas

Jefferson founded the

University of Virginia

shift toward state-supported

secular and nondenominational

more advanced instruction

choice of majors

Between 1825 and 1862

• more support for public funding of education

• public high schools• Oberlin admitted African-

Americans in 1835 and women in 1838

• Western frontier movement• labor movement• movements toward reform,

egalitarianism • more pluralistic society• more kinds of colleges

Conflicting Priorities

• small and elitist vs. large and egalitarian

• liberal arts/classical curriculum vs. many options

• faculty focus on character formation vs. teaching in their discipline

• holistic approach vs. focus on intellectual (and vocational) competence

1862 - Morrill Land Grant Act

• growing demand for education beyond high school

• federal funding for large state universities

• many states established big universities

• agricultural and mechanical courses as well as liberal arts

Faculty roles changing

academic disciplines developing scholarship becoming more objective more graduate work at German

research universities faculty wanted to do research faculty did not want to:

• live with the students• deal with conduct problems• Influence what students did

outside of classes

First dean at Harvard in 1870

Students developed their own social and intellectual activities

Greek societies athletics drama and music groups publications debating teams literary societies

1920 - Bobbie’s Story

Roberta (“Bobbie”) wasborn in 1900 in Salem,Connecticut(formerly known as“Paugwonk”).

At that time, 4% of the 18year olds were going tocollege.

Of the 250,000 enrolled,

two in five were women.

Bobbie was not an avid scholar,

but she loved learning to make

her own clothes. Her mother told her

that college was a way to improve

social status, and a good way to

find a husband.

She did well enough in high

school to be admitted to

Connecticut Agricultural College.

The college was founded in 1880 on the former campus of the Orphans of Veterans home, through a land grant and bequest by Charles and Augustus Storrs.

It had “the radical intent” of educating the sons and daughters of farmers about new technology and farming

techniques in order to revitalize the state’s farms.

Until the first graduating classes proved the practicality of their education, many critics challenged the wisdom and necessity of educating farmers.

The College began with classes in farming methods, farm management and nursing, and eventually evolved into the University of Connecticut.

Bobbie majored in Home Economics, but enjoyed taking a Botany class.

Bobbie learned through involvement

She learned interpersonal skills and physical and manual competence on the Basketball team.

She gained self-esteem, and a clearer sense of who she was.

She became a leader

She learned that she had the talent and organizational skills to produce a rousing “Flapper” number at the Freshman Banquet.

Relationship issues

Bobbie’s roommate, Lucille, actually became a flapper--bobbing her hair, listening to jazz, and wearing make-up.

She even talked about smoking, drinking, and driving an automobile.

One weekend, she invited Bobbie to go

with her to a speakeasy in Hartford.

She received guidance

Bobbie met the Dean of Women at the Freshman Cozy, and talked with her about Lucille.

The Dean helped her clarify her values, and make a decision to attend church instead of going to a speakeasy.

Bobbie found meaning and lifelong friends

She joined the Home Economics Club, and formed new relationships.

Even after 30 years, they could still recite the Home Economics Club Creed:

“I believe in the eternal greatness of quiet service for the home restful and the body beautiful."

20th Century Developments

• 1901- First public junior college in Joliet, Illinois High schools added two more years, broadened mission, added

vocational programs, adult basic skills, continuing education, and community service

• 1937 - “The Student Personnel Point of View” published by the American Council on Education identified 23 student services roles asked colleges to foster not only students’ intellectual achievement,

but also their emotional make-up physical condition social relationships vocational aptitudes and skills moral and religious values economic resources aesthetic appreciations

After World War II

• GI Bill• rapid growth of community colleges• more specialists in student services• skills and knowledge defined for each function• graduate programs• professional associations• social scientists studied college student behavior• research and theory on student development

What is student development?

• higher level of competence and knowledge• greater effectiveness• more complexity• more integration of experience• transformation of consciousness • more self-awareness and self-acceptance• actualizing potential• cycles of differentiation and integration• change fostered by balancing challenge and support

Theory and Research

• Cognitive Theories William Perry - intellectual development Lawrence Kohlberg - ethical development. Carol Gilligan challenged Kohlberg’s model with research on

women’s moral development (1982) Mary Belenky et al. - Women’s Ways of Knowing (1987)

• Typology theories Myers-Briggs Typology Indicator Holland’s work on career aptitudes

• Psychosocial Theories Chickering’s seven vectors

1969 - Education and Identity published

• By Arthur Chickering• influenced by Erik Eriksen • assessed students in 13 liberal arts colleges• used the Omnibus Personality Inventory, faculty

evaluations, student self-assessments, and observation

• identified 7 vectors—directions in which students tended to move while in college

• encouraged colleges to be intentional about fostering development

1993 - Revision

Chickering’s Seven Vectors

1. Developing competence2. Managing emotions3. Moving through autonomy toward

interdependence4. Developing mature interpersonal

relationships5. Establishing identity6. Developing purpose7. Developing integrity

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes for Student Leaders

(Adapted from James Kouzes and Barry Posner – The Leadership Challenge and Student Leadership Practices Inventory)

Student Leaders will:

 

1. Develop self-awareness as individuals; explore their potential and develop a vision for themselves as leaders.

2. Identify and practice the skills used by leaders to design and build a process for change.

3. Explore the meaning of community and its importance to the role of student life; develop skills needed to foster a healthy community through student life; understand and feel that they are part of something larger than their individual groups and campus.

Learning Outcomes, continued

4. Explore personal values and how their values relate to the values of their organization; act and lead with purpose and integrity.

5. Increase skills used by exemplary leaders, such as:• search for opportunities to improve campus life• inspire a shared vision for the future and enlist the support of

others.• foster collaboration and enable and strengthen others to act.• recognize contributions and celebrate accomplishments.

 

6. Practice leadership skills in providing programs and activities, and supporting student success. Skills include: planning, program implementation, resource management, problem-solving, communication skills, critical thinking, motivation, creativity, conflict resolution, and teamwork.

Small Groups

1. Think of an example of student development--in students you have worked with, or in your own experience as a student. What changed?

1. What helped the change happen?

Questions

• How do we intentionally promote student learning and development while delivering services?

• How do we assess what students are learning as a result of our efforts?

• How do we use data to improve practice and improve completion rates?

• What trends are emerging now?

• How do we adapt to tomorrow’s students?

The Future

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

- Arthur C. Clark